I have just been diagnosed, and am set to a new thought and issue. Who am I?

I have always been proud of how well I know myself, and now I find that I might not have been entirely correct. I know hypomanic me very well indeed. For years I've thought to aim for that, without knowing what was wrong, only that I'd go past it and go crazy, then get depressed.

The real me is somewhere in between, and the optimism of hypomania is a very colourful filter to put to a personality. It's extremely likely that I'm not as outgoing and sociable as I'd like to think.

When I was a very young child, I was markedly reserved, quiet and studious, and I think that's probably much nearer the mark.

Just out of interest, what were you like as a child?

If you were diagnosed later in life, did you face the same questions?

Is it impossible to prefer yourself, honestly, without hypomania?

I don't really know where I'm going with this, but I'm really interested in your experiences if you're willing to share.